pardons board has decided anwars petition

KUALA LUMPUR — March 27, 2015: The Pardons Board has made a decision on the petition for a royal pardon by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was convicted for sodomy.

An announcement will be made on Wednesday, according to Anwar’s lawyer.

N. Surendran told reporters the announcement would be made when the high court hears Anwar’s application for leave to challenge the decision of the commissioner-general of Prisons barring him from attending parliament.

The lawyer, along with senior federal counsel Amarjeet Singh who represented the home minister and the commissioner-general of prisons, had met with Judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad in chambers.

“The decision has been made, as informed by the federal counsel (in chambers). The court set Wednesday to confirm the status of the petition,” Surendran said.

Amarjeet said Surendran had asked for time to verify facts in the affidavit affirmed by the director-general of the Legal Affairs Department, which is the secretariat of the Pardons Board.

“They asked for time. Once a decision is made, the constitution speaks for itself. A member of parliament becomes disqualified; judge allowing them time to verify,” he said.

Anwar, the MP for Permatang Pauh, filed the application on March 18 and named the home minister and commissioner-general of prisons as the first and second respondents.

Via a supporting affidavit, Anwar, 67, who is serving a five-year jail term at Sungai Buloh prison, claimed that he was still a member of parliament and opposition leader as the petition for a royal pardon to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had yet to be disposed of.

He submitted the application for the royal pardon on February 24 after the federal court upheld his jail term for sodomising his former personal aide Mohd. Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Anwar claimed that the decision of the respondents in not allowing him to attend parliament was unconstitutional, invalid and void.

Anwar is seeking an order for the decision of the commissioner-general of prisons dated March 4 to be transferred to the high court and revoked under a certiorari order.

He is also seeking a mandamus order requiring the commissioner-general to allow him to attend parliament and a declaration that he had the right to attend the sittings. — Bernama